Golf Swing Video: A Shorter Backswing Can Bring More Consistency and Power

Symptom: Erratic shots, losing your balance as you swing, a golf swing that is not reliable or powerful, and doesn’t hold up under pressure or from round to round.

People seldom tell you that you need a shorter backswing, but that is exactly what you need.

Description: Slow down and use a shorter backswing for more consistency.

Why it works: Let’s start with the basics: the purpose of the backswing is to coil the body and set the club in position for a powerful downswing. You don’t hit the ball with your backswing, you hit the ball on the downswing.

Do not confuse a long backswing with a powerful golf swing! The key is to make the swing that works for your body, while watching the ball at all times.

How can I know what this means, you ask? It’s simple — use the Ben Hogan tee-in-the-lips trick to ensure you maintain a quiet head, and then gradually increase your backswing until you detect some motion off the ball on your backswing. Then back off a little. That’s all! You have just found the backswing that is right for you. (Hint — your ideal backswing is almost surely not as long as the guys on TV)!

Shorter Backwsings on Tour

Many of the best players on the PGA Tour have very compact, repeatable golf swings with relatively short backswings that the Occasional Golfer, such as you and me, can emulate. I suggest looking at Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, and Jason Dufner, for example. These guys all hit the ball plenty far, and very consistently, with a repeatable and limited backswing.

Have a look at Jon — his backswing is very, very short but he is one of the longest hitters on tour:

And here is Paul:

And finally here is Jason:

All are regarded as excellent ball strikers and all have simple, repeatable swings. Try it next time you are on the range, and see if your consistency doesn’t improve! Please tell your golfing buddies about this post! Like, Email, Bookmark, Share or Tweet below!